The Japanese Imperial Army was the most powerful force in the Far East through the 1930s and early 1940s, and this photographic history is the ideal introduction to it. In a vivid selection of archive images, most of which have not been published before, Philip Jowett covers its role in a series of conflicts, beginning with its invasion of Manchuria in 1931 until its final defeat in the Pacific War in August 1945.
He describes the development of the army, its structure and organization and its expansion during these years, and illustrates its actions in a series of campaigns that are often overlooked in other books on the subject, including those in China between 1931 and 1937 and the Nomonhan campaign against the Soviet Union in 1938.
The extraordinary ambition of the Japanese military during these years is dramatically revealed through the photographs and the accompanying text, and the book provides a graphic record of the Japanese armys performance against the opposing forces that were eventually ranged against it the Chinese, British, Soviets and Americans.

There is a growing interest in collecting Japanese militaria and this work will help in identifying items of kit. This is probably one of the best books in the Images of War series so far.

GunMart - reviewed by John Norris

A useful reference for modeling Japanese figures in the Pacific theater, with views of soldiers in training, at leisure, on the march, and in combat.

FineScale Modeler, September 2017

Well documented and richly illustrated.

VaeVictis, September/October 2017

A new addition to the very popular Images of War Series. As with other volumes in this series, its great strength is the quality and rarity of the images that illustrate the concise text, all at a very aggressive cover price – Highly Recommended.

Philip Jowett has been writing military history since 1997. He has published many books on the armies of Asia in the first half of the twentieth century, and has made a special study of the armies of China. He has also published on the Russo-Japanese War, the Mexican revolution and the Italian and Japanese armies of the Second World War.